First Baptist Church
March 29, 2026
      • Bible Trivia
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      • Galatians 2:16CSB

  • "Nothing But the Blood"
  • Are You Washed In The Blood (Washed In The Blood)
  • At the Cross
  • When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
  • The Power Of The Cross

      • Romans 6:4–11NASB95

  • Were You There?
  • Crown Him with Many Crowns
  • Introduction
    We’ve been looking at the “I Am” statements of Jesus in the Gospel of John. There are seven of them, and each one tells us a little more about Jesus’ understanding of himself. But perhaps even more important is beginning each one with the phrase, “I Am.” This was the ancient name of God revealed to Moses at the burning bush, “Yahweh,” which is a form of the verb “to be.” So here was Jesus, seven times, identifying himself with God.
    Today, we’re going to do something unusual: As we approach Easter Sunday we’re going to consider a text that is about resurrection, but not Jesus’ resurrection. Did you know that Jesus was not the first person to be raised back to life after they died?
    The Gospels record at least three that Jesus himself raised: Jairus’ daughter, the widow’s son, and Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. This is the one we’re going to look at today. Here’s the significance of that:
    Last week, we left Jesus and his disciples on the other side of the Jordan river. This was the desert region where John had originally been baptizing people. The text implies that things had heated up in Jerusalem because of Jesus’ confrontations with the Pharisees, so they had to “get out of Dodge” for a while.
    But chapter 11 opens with a messenger coming to them with news that a man named Lazarus was sick. This was the brother of Mary and Martha, and they lived in a town called Bethany, just outside of Jerusalem. These siblings were apparently very close to Jesus, and he stayed with them when he was visiting Jerusalem. But upon hearing the news of Lazarus’ illness, Jesus inexplicably chose to stay where he was for two more days. “This sickness will not end in death,” he said. “No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (11:4)
    After two days, he said to his disciples, “Let’s go back to Judea.” (v. 7) His disciples tried to talk him out of it: “A short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?” (v. 8) Jesus responded with something similar to what he said back in John 9:4; “I must do the work of the father while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.”
    Then this curious exchange: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” (v. 11) His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.”
    As usual, the disciples missed the deeper meaning of what Jesus was saying. So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (v. 14)
    Thomas’ response: “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” It’s not clear whether Thomas was referring to Lazarus’ death, or the fear that Jesus was walking into a trap.
    But sometimes in the scriptures, people say things that have meanings far beyond what they intended. Thomas’ gloomy comment was more profound and prophetic than he could possibly know. The disciples needed to experience a death and resurrection, just like Lazarus. And so do we. We have to die to an old life in order to be born into a new one. And the work of the Holy Spirit in us is to wake us up to this new life—what life is meant to be all about.

    Two kinds of sleep

    Mark 5:39–41 CSB
    39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”).
    He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
    After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).
    Jesus used the metaphor of sleep to describe people that were actually dead. For him, the two states were interchangeable, indistinguishable. This “sleep” is the sleep of death. Since the coming of Christ the death of a believer is regularly called a sleep (cf. Acts 7:60; 1 Cor. 15:20; 1 Thes. 4:13–18). Dead Christians are asleep not in the sense of an unconscious “soul sleep,” but in the sense that their bodies appear to be sleeping.
    Physical Sleep Theology: Sleep is a daily surrender of control, a reminder of human limitations (finitude) compared to God's infinity. It is a tangible act of grace, proving we are not in charge.
    Why does Jesus call death “sleep”? He’s showing them a distinctly different perspective on death. They fear death. They see death as the ultimate winner. It’s why they don’t want to go to Judea. Jesus sees death much differently. Death is no worse than sleep, and there’s no reason to fear sleep. This is the reason he can say he’s glad he waited for Lazarus to die. It’s not because he dislikes Lazarus; it’s because he knows death is powerless before him. He can wake Lazarus up from death. It is no harder for Jesus to rouse Lazarus from death than for you to rouse your child from bed. On second thought, Jesus may have the easier task.

    Two kinds of death

    Ephesians 2:1–6 CSB
    1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,
    Revelation 3:1–2 CSB
    1 “Write to the angel of the church in Sardis: Thus says the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works; you have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. 2 Be alert and strengthen what remains, which is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before my God.
    Physical Death Vs. Eternal Death
    I’m not a zombie fan at all.
    These passages describe a kind of living death, or zombie-like state that many of us fall into… It’s terrifying to think about the truth of being alive, breathing, but also being dead.

    Two kinds of life

    John 5:21 CSB
    21 And just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son also gives life to whom he wants.
    John 17:3 CSB
    3 This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.
    The Temporary Life Vs Eternal Life
    Illustration: Fyodor Dostoevsky’s conversion experience.
    He was arrested by the Czar and sentenced to die. But the whole thing was just a cruel joke intended to traumatize people who had rebelled against the regime. They were blindfolded and stood before a firing squad. They heard the guns go off but felt nothing, then slowly realized the guns were loaded with blanks. The whole experience had a profound effect on Dostoevsky. He describes waking up the morning of his mock execution, knowing that it would be the last day of his life. As he ate his last meal, he savored every bite. Every breath he took was breathed with an awareness of how precious it was. Every face he saw that day he studied with intensity. He wanted every experience to be etched in his mind. As they marched him to the courtyard he felt the warmth of the sun on his back as never before. Everything around him, every blade of grass, had a magical quality about it. He was seeing the world as he had never seen it before. All of his senses were heightened—he was fully alive!
    After the experience of fake execution, his life was never the same. He became grateful to people he had previously hated. He became thankful for everything about life, but especially for life itself.
    The rest of the story
    Jesus speaks to Martha, and she expresses a kind of faith that is familiar to us.
    “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus assures her that her brother will rise again, she responds, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”
    Then comes Jesus’ startling response: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Do we? Apparently, Jesus was speaking again of two kinds of life and two kinds of death.
    Next, Jesus speaks to Mary. She expresses the same level of faith as her sister: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But this time, Jesus is deeply moved by her tears, and asks, “Where have you laid him?”
    Finally, Jesus speaks to Lazarus. First, he silences Martha’s objections to removing the stone. “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” Next he prays to the Father: “I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” Then he calls in a loud voice: “Lazarus, come out!”
    Example: Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son.
    Upon realizing he had reached the bottom of the barrel, the young man resolved, “I will arise and go to my father.” At their reunion, the father exclaims, “For this my son was dead and is alive again.” Then, to be sure we don’t miss the imagery of a resurrection, the father restates his joy to his other son, “For your brother was dead and is alive again.”
    This son hadn’t lost and regained his biological existence. But he had lain down on the deathbed of shame, fear, and broken relationships. He had cultivated an overwhelming sense of separation that bore the bitter fruit of disgrace, anguish, and loneliness. When he took responsibility for his actions and honestly faced up to the consequences, Jesus says that the young man “arose.” Interesting that this is the same word that the New Testament consistently uses to refer to Jesus being “raised” in resurrection.
    So, “arising” also has a double meaning. It points to a greater, broader, and deeper resurrection than just biological reanimation. What difference would it make for a dead body to regain its existence if the person remained filled with anger, bitterness, arrogance, hatred, anxiety, resentment, hostility, and blame. Repeating the same patterns in a new outer shell would be like slapping a fresh coat of paint on a broken-down jalopy. It may look good, but nothing of substance has changed.
    No, the glorious message of what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17
    2 Corinthians 5:17 CSB
    17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!
    Also, Romans 6:4
    Romans 6:4 CSB
    4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in newness of life.
    Conclusion: The story God is telling is the story of the renewal of all things, and it has already begun! We participate in it through death and resurrection, now! It happens when we say yes to God’s invitation to new life and follow Jesus to the cross. And the cross—once an instrument of torture and death—becomes a symbol of joy and beauty.
    Let’s pray together.
    Prayer: “Father, help us to fully embrace and live out the truth of our new life in Christ today. We live because he is risen! We are already seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! We walk in the newness of life because he has conquered death!”

      • John 15:1–8CSB

      • Isaiah 5:1–7CSB

      • 1 John 1:9CSB

      • Psalm 46:10CSB

      • Luke 10:38–42CSB

First Baptist Church
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